1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a voice guide system for outputting voice in response to the operation of an information processing apparatus as well as a voice guide method thereof, and more particularly to a voice guide system adapted to voice guide the input status of a password as well as a voice guide method thereof
2. Description of the Related Art
In information processing apparatuses such as facsimile machines, copying machines and combination machines, and personal computers, various apparatuses have hitherto been proposed which takes into consideration universal design (the design of products, services, and environments which are easy to use for as many people as possible irrespective of differences in age, sex, race, and physical capabilities).
In recent years, in conjunction with the enactment of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of the United States of America, hardware manufacturers providing such information processing apparatuses to customers are tending to proceed with research and development under the awareness that apparatuses which are more accessible and easy to use for a greater number of people enhance the competitiveness of their own companies.
Against such a background, as a technique which takes into consideration visually impaired persons (persons with weak eyesight, persons with low vision, totally blind persons, etc.), an apparatus is known in which voice guide is provided to allow even a visually impaired person to easily perform various operations.
For example, in the information processing apparatus, “paper empty,” “lack of toner,” “paper jam,” and the like are voice guided, and background music (BGM) is played after the voice guide. As this BGM is continuously played, even if the user was away from the apparatus at the point of time of the voice guide, the user is able to recognize in what condition the apparatus is when he or she returns.
However, with the conventional information processing apparatuses, a voice guide corresponding to the contents of a screen display is basically given. For this reason, when entering a password, a screen such as the one shown in FIG. 12 is displayed, and since the password is displayed with asterisks (*) in the light of the confidentiality required by the password, when the voice guide is given, “asterisk” is read out each time one character is entered.
Therefore, the above-described voice guide corresponding to the contents of the screen display has been difficult to use for a user who has difficulty in visually confirming the contents of the display, such as a visually impaired person, since it is impossible to even grasp how the password is being entered.
Accordingly, the present invention has been devised in view of the above-described problems and provides a voice guide system which makes it possible for even a user such as a visually impaired person to easily perform the operation of entering a password, as well as a voice guide method thereof.